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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26050432">daybreak's calling</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dokkal/pseuds/dokkal'>dokkal</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, M/M, Post-War, confessions and proposals</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:00:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26050432</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dokkal/pseuds/dokkal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the last battle at the Imperial capital drew to a close, Byleth prepares to propose to Dimitri, though his fraught nerves seem intent to ruin things for him</p><p>for mdimileth week day 3: after the war</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>daybreak's calling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I just finished azure moon and wrote this on a post-story high, not sure how it turned out, but just needed to get this out of!! my!! system!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the army enters the Imperial palace in a determined march, they start the last battle of the war - each one of them marching in to brave the future they wanted with their like-minded allies and family, fighting with the minds of a war numbed soldier as the enemies flood their sight, and one of them, reaching out with blood-soaked hands of a hardened warrior that still has compassion for their enemy one last time.</p><p>The daunting walls felt as if it would cave in at any moment. Red tapestries and flooring of eagles and the symbol of the Adrestian empire draped over every room adds to the disconcerting unfamiliarity of the maze-like place, making them feel small, but they press on, riding on the backs of their allies watching their blind spots, looking to end what’s in front of them.</p><p>Even though the blood seems to blend with the red decor that grows increasingly tattered as the battle goes on, so Byleth looks to the dark colors of their army, it grounds him enough, despite soldiers coming within his sword’s length every moment without so much as a moment to breathe, not that he’s new to matters of slaughtering people in this manner. Still, as the body count piles up, Byleth grows fraught at the blood pooling at his feet, the tortured screams of both clashing armies, if he were who he was five years ago, this would have been nothing.</p><p>When they stepped foot out of the Imperial palace, the shoulders of the people lightened, grim lines thought to be permanent on many faces already lost to unraveling smiles and awkward giggles, filling the city of Enbarr with the thrumming energy of a post-victory high.</p><p>The flying knights flew over buildings with glee as pegasi and wyverns shrieked glee with their riders, hooves of calvaries stomp the cobblestone streets with fervor, and the people’s cheers add to the cacophonous sound of victory, though not much could be said about the original citizens of the city. The roars and cheers are endless and overstimulating. To Byleth, it’s almost deafening, if not for the person standing next to him likely feeling just as overwhelmed as he.</p><p>Byleth looks to his right, the furs of a black and white cloak already muffle his words as Dimitri pulls him in for a tight hug, one that Byleth returns all too eagerly before he even realizes what just happened. He isn’t sure which one of them shudders so hard, could be the both of them, not that it matters much at the moment.</p><p>.</p><p>Byleth thumbs at the ring in his pocket as he runs a hand through his hair. It isn’t like him to be nervous, his mind running wild with anticipation and fear alike, mixing into an iron pot boiling over. But when it comes to matters with Dimitri, it just feels too odd to be anything but.</p><p>This will be the last chance, the only chance he’s mustered to give himself before they’re both whisked away by duty calls in separate lands inconvenienced by long distances to and fro.</p><p>Oh, he could just puke right now. If it can get rid of the nauseating butterflies that flutter in his stomach, maybe he'll do just that, but he’s saved by a new sound entering his ears.</p><p>Byleth stands at the Goddess tower with bated breath when he hears the familiar gait of footsteps reaching to the floor he is on, only stopping under the entrance.</p><p>“Dimitri,” Byleth says before he turns to face him as if he can finally breathe when he sees the blond. He’s relieved that it didn’t turn out to be a half-choke that Dimitri may mistake as a health concern, but it is strained just enough that Dimitri can notice it because he’s Dimitri and he knows Byleth’s habits and manners just as much as he did -</p><p>He could just puke right now.</p><p>Slowly, Dimitri steps forward, the dim moonlight lighting his pretty features into an unfairly attractive way that he can’t see under the rays of the sun.</p><p>“Professor,” Dimitri breaks into a smile when they make eye contact. His smile strikes a dissonant chord into Byleth’s heart, almost fooling him into thinking his chest might explode if it meant that it can beat just once for the man he loves and fall into oblivion.</p><p>The ring burns in his pocket, as if Sothis wills the ring to be on fire, making his senses lit aflame with the usual nerves of steel that he absolutely does <em> not </em> have right now. Good, be it a scorching reminder that he cannot run away from this, regardless of what lighthearted rendezvous Dimitri had expected from him when he came up here, Byleth will go on with what he’s here to do.</p><p>It isn’t Dimitri’s fault, or anyone else’s. But, hearing his formal title in a secluded area where the only two of them stood as humans under the impartial judgment of the moonlight sort of stings. Just a little, only because he’s too aware of the situation he’s put himself in, because it won’t deter his unwavering decision to be out with it to Dimitri tonight, hopefully. The urge to slap himself spikes harder than the sucker punches Caspar does, more than the biting words Felix has recently cut himself back on.</p><p>“Tomorrow is another early morning for us, yet you're still -” Dimitri gestures to him, shaking his head after even though his smile is fond.</p><p>“I couldn’t sleep,” was all Byleth can say. He isn’t lying, anyways.</p><p>“I as well,” Dimitri nods, his face likely mirroring the tired look on his own. “Though I cannot blame you for that since I know very well how that feels like, I still feel you should at least rest on your bed.”</p><p>“Hm,” Byleth folds his arms across his chest as he leans against the stone balcony wall. “Then what are you doing here late if not to escape your own bed?”</p><p>“I…” Dimitri says, gracefully. Sighing, he walks over to him, a conceding smile on his face. Over a light chuckle, he says, “Fine. You got me.”</p><p>The ring continues to burn. His throat leaps and pounds as Dimitri inches closer next to him, his eyes staring over the horizon like him.</p><p>“How’s your shoulder?” Byleth asks.</p><p>“Ah.” Dimitri flexes a small swing of his arm for him to see. “My hand’s still a bit numb, but Mercedes said it will heal nicely.”</p><p>“Good,” Byleth says, nodding a little too quickly as he looks over to the horizon, the morning sun yet to appear for the new dawn.</p><p>Dimitri straightens beside him, the cloak seeming to shrink into his body as if looking for a moment of comfort.</p><p>“Dimitri, are you cold?” Byleth turns back to him. Dimitri shakes his head.</p><p>“N-no, I am warm.” He knows the moonlight and his eyes aren’t playing tricks on him when he sees the blush that Dimitri adorns every time he comes close, even though he wouldn’t want to impart any sort of hope out of some sort of inconspicuous fear building behind his throat that he still cannot find the words to describe.</p><p>It is terrifying, to say the least. For lack of a better description, Byleth’s heard many tales of giving your heart away in the metaphorical sense, these tales exploded during the war when their army camps for the night. In campfires, when Byleth flits from a station to another on a routine night watch, he overhears them often.</p><p>It took a while, but he finally put two and two together. Of course, it was with the very subtle help of his Lions who either looked <em>so </em>distraught or delirious with excitement when Byleth finally tells them of his weird nerves and flutters in his stomach around a certain someone.</p><p>“It is a lovely night though, is it not, Professor?” Dimitri edges closer to his right, a dangerously close proximity that Byleth has experienced so many times. But this time, it’s a far cry from the same thing, even if it’s one-sided.</p><p>“Tonight is one of the nights where I am surprisingly not plagued by the nightmares of the past, but hopes for the future,” Dimitri says to the night wind, where the gentle breeze guides the hopeful words to Byleth’s ears.</p><p>“Hopes for the future,” Byleth intones. “There is still so much to be done.”</p><p>“Yes,” Dimitri agrees, adding, “Though I hope you wouldn’t be so cruel as to leave me with all the work.”</p><p>“Of course not,” Byleth scoffs, though it lacks a bite in his tone. “None of us are going to leave you to sit at your desk writing up piles of paperwork for the rest of your life.”</p><p>Dimitri huffs out a laugh, amused. “I am definitely not looking forward to the paperwork. But such is the duty that falls to us, so we’ll just have to make do with it.”</p><p>“I suppose there is no choice but to do that,” Byleth follows suit, laughing a little. A small part of them feels at ease simply by standing next to the man, he can never get enough of it. “Dimitri, what specific hopes do you have for the future?”</p><p>Bringing a hand to his chin, Dimitri makes a noise, thinking. “I suppose, in the broader scheme of things, I wish for our people of these three territories to get along, as well as our neighboring countries that shared streaks of bad blood with us…though, I suppose this isn’t the answer you were looking for seeing as to we’re in fact <em> not </em> in front of political ambassadors and the like.”</p><p>Snorting, Byleth replies,  “No, but I expected you to answer something like that. It <em> is </em> specific though, mind you.” The flush on Dimitri’s face deepens and Byleth takes a small victory in that. “But a more personal hope would be nice to know.”</p><p>“Oh,” Dimitri says, soft. Byleth bites his lip, seeing how Dimitri's eye carries a flurry of emotions that is blinked away too fast for him to understand.</p><p>“Of course.” Dimitri nods, his expression slightly shifting into something serious.</p><p>“I would like to share mine,” Byleth adds quickly, his vision fuzzes over for a moment as he realizes this is his chance. “If that makes it easier to share. Equivalent exchange, if you will.”</p><p>“Haha - it’s nothing like that,” Dimitri rubs the back of his neck. “I am just… a little nervous about sharing it, but I would share it in the blink of an eye if it were with you.” He appears to want to say something else, but his gaze averts when Byleth nods at him to continue.</p><p>This man’s going to be the death of him, Byleth thinks.</p><p>“<em>Alllright</em>, then,” It almost comes out as a squeak. He’s more surprised himself how taken aback he is. Awkwardly, Byleth clears his throat, his entire body once again heating in that unexpected way that he cannot control.</p><p>There’s no sugar coating it now. For his entire life, Byleth Eisner’s known to not drag things out, but with Dimitri, he easily renders that to feel like an impossible thread to grasp at.</p><p>“I hope…” The following words die on his lips before it even gave Dimitri a clue on what he meant.</p><p>For a single moment that drags out for what felt like an eternity, Byleth kept losing his footing. All the words he had practiced never took shape in his failing sentences, in his failing and frozen body language that looks more like a frightened bird.</p><p>“You hope…” Dimitri supplies, patient. Byleth wonders if the light behind Dimitri’s eye were of amusement or worry, a mix of both, maybe. “Sorry, Professor, but it is a rare sight to see you trail off on your sentences like that,” he jests.</p><p>“Byleth.”</p><p>The single name makes him jump, though from what Byleth can’t bring himself to focus on that right now. “C-come again?” Dimitri squeaks.</p><p>“Byleth.” He says again. Wetting his lips, ignoring the way Dimitri’s eyes follows his tongue, he only hopes that he doesn’t sound too frantic because everything he has prepared for caves in on itself like fettered chains whenever he calls to execute it. And it vexes him to no end. Nothing has ever caused him so much trouble before, not before Dimitri came into the picture. “Please, call me Byleth.”</p><p>“B-Byleth, um,” Dimitri stumbles over his name, his face growing increasingly redder by the second. His arms reach out though they stop midway as if unsure and conflicted by the sudden turn of events and mood.</p><p>“My hope for the future,” he grits his teeth with all his might as he tries to claw into his chest to pluck the single ounce of courage he needs to press on. “One of them…”</p><p>He draws in a deep, much-needed breath from the night air, now acutely aware of the strong scent of pine tea permeating his senses. It’s not his. “One of my hopes includes you being by my side.” He holds out a hand to stop Dimitri from saying anything, just for a moment, he needs to let it out.</p><p>“My father told me to give this to someone I love as much as he did to my mother, and -” with bated breath, Byleth pulls out said ring that’s been sitting idly in his pocket as he flails about like a fool. He holds it in his palm, staring into Dimitri’s eyes.</p><p>What rolls out of his mouth next were the most straightforward and genuine, yet earnest words he’d felt and uttered before, and as imperfect as his confession is in practice, Byleth wouldn’t dare to redo it. “I...I love you, Dimitri, I’ve always had. Um. Will you marry me?”</p><p>If Byleth were a less courageous as he numbly counts the seconds of tense, electrified silence between them - the way Dimitri’s mouth practically hangs agape at the ring he's holding like a mannequin, his hands just hovering in front of his chest, his one eye bulging wider than the day they reunited on the Millennium Festival - he would’ve chosen to jump off the tower to save himself from this embarrassment. But he doesn’t, and waits patiently, even as his hand cups the other one holding the ring starts to shake, he waits.</p><p>He almost flinches away when Dimitri steps into his space too quickly for him to gather himself, wrapping his gloved hands over his own to curl into, catching his open-mouthed surprise into a deep kiss.</p><p>Byleth gasps into the kiss and Dimitri drinks in the noise like a tired soldier looking for a heady swig of ale, his jelly legs stumbling as to regain his balance as Dimitri’s arm wraps around his waist to keep him steady. He doesn’t know how they’re doing it, but they’re kissing, maybe to someone who’s kissed before they probably look like a mess but who’s watching them?</p><p>His free hand wanders over Dimitri’s flushed and exposed neck, grazing at his nape with a tentative touch before he pulls him down harder into the kiss, drawing out a low whine from Dimitri that’s sweet like nectar. It sets Byleth’s guts aflame.</p><p>“Dimi -” His words are already cut off by another searing hot kiss, this time at a more measured pace, one that intends to drag out everything Byleth has to offer, and he is dizzy and all too willing to comply.</p><p>One moment they’re struggling to stand, and another moment Dimitri’s seated himself over Byleth’s legs as they settle onto the floor before they fall and gain a stupid concussion by the hard stone floor.</p><p>“Byleth,” Dimitri says, dragging the name out to make the sound last. His deep voice is solid and present and <em>here</em>, a soft familiarity that tethers him to reality even in the heat of something he longs to share with him. He still finds himself lost in the blue sea of his eyes. Cupping both of Byleth’s cheeks, Dimitri rests his forehead against his, but a moment after he moves his head to hide in the crook of his neck, letting his hands fall to grip at Byleth’s side and back.</p><p>Byleth wriggles, not from discomfort, far from it, he simply finds himself lost again on what to do, a surreal replay of what just happened finally catching up to the conscious side of his brain. He clues in on how Dimitri’s hold is so soft, how his breathing seems to have gone shallower than what it was before. So they sit here just like that for a moment, Byleth resting his fingers against his chest plate, the other holding onto the ring like a lifeline. If they were somewhere else, he would have been able to feel the warmth of Dimitri through thinner comfortable clothing than none because of his metal plates of armor.</p><p>Still resting against his shoulder, Dimitri questions, “Byleth?” as if checking if he’s still here.</p><p>“Dimitri?” When Dimitri lifts his head to face him, Byleth reaches up to part the hair covering his face, tucking whatever he could behind his ears.</p><p>“I don’t know what came over me -” Dimitri says, the awkward prince suddenly awash in his words again. “But I should have said it first. I - I accept, yes.”</p><p>Dimitri shivers slightly as if the chill night wind has finally caught him. “I want to marry you too.”</p><p>He reaches into his pocket, fishing out a ring that made Byleth’s eyes widen like a fool this time. “You had <em> no </em> idea, Byleth,” Dimitri says, with all the love his voice can carry, making Byleth shudder at his own name being called. “How long I’ve waited for this. And yet, you still beat me to it first.”</p><p>With the rings still secured in their hands, they both reach to each other for another kiss, a slow languid pace that lets them simply bask in each other’s presence without any extra words, something the both of them needed since times during war hadn’t provided much of these precious moments for them. And now, with only optimistic hopes with its crests and valleys to look forward into the future, Byleth knows they can have more than just a moment with each other.</p><p>“Well,” Byleth says as they part all too reluctantly, his voice hoarse. He holds the ring in front of him. “Let’s exchange these now, shall we?”</p><p>As Byleth locks contact with him, he sees the same adoration glinting in Dimitri’s eyes just as when he had first noticed it back when they were at the academy, when things happening were still quite mellow when you weigh the years of war to it - an adoration reserved for him in a way that exceeds any official titles they were assigned to, perhaps a bit weathered by the turmoils of war and hardships, but still there all the same.</p><p>He’s sure whatever Dimitri’s looking for in his eyes is also present because he presses against his lips again for another chaste kiss. Byleth doesn’t realize that he can see much better now because the sun has already started to flood into the night with its brilliant rays.</p><p>Holding Byleth’s hand in his, Dimitri answers him with a solid, brightening smile that he only brings out for him, “My beloved, I couldn’t ask for anything better.”</p><p>And the sun bids both of them the new dawn with its radiant orange glow in the ever-changing sky.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Though I am considering writing all the prompts for dimireto week, and have been planning them for weeks, it may take me ages to write something again // we will see if my brain lets me because we need more dimireto food<br/>Anyway I hope this was enjoyable, stay safe and hydrated everyone</p></blockquote></div></div>
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